


Gateway

by bluehawthorn



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Captain of the Guard, Consensual Sex, Elf Culture & Customs, Excessive Star References - You've Been Warned, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Forest Sex, Headcanon, Increased Potential for Future Love-Triangle Angst, Legolas Knows How to Please the Ladies, Mirkwood, Pre-Desolation of Smaug, Prince of the Woodland Realm, Quiet Sex, Strange Elf Mating Rituals, Tauriel POV, Unselfish Lover Legolas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-14
Updated: 2015-03-14
Packaged: 2018-03-17 21:30:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3544472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluehawthorn/pseuds/bluehawthorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Legolas fetches Tauriel for a night of guard duty at the edge of Mirkwood, it turns out he has something much more in mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gateway

Tauriel has just begun tending her arrows when there is a knock on her chamber door. She startles. This is a place where she is always alone. Very few people have ever visited her there and it is late into the evening.

She goes to the door, slowly opening it to find Legolas standing on the other side, his fist raised in readiness to knock again. She draws herself up, straightening her spine, and inclines her head to him in deference. 

He looks her over and noticing that she is still in her guard’s clothes says brusquely, “Tauriel. There is a pack of orcs on the edge of the forest. We must go.” His body is tense with the kind of contained urgency he often carries when on duty.

She grabs her weapons where they are laid out on the table and follows him quickly out the door. She thinks that they will soon be joined by other warriors, but as they reach the gate and jog out into the cool night air, they are still alone.

“Are others coming, my lord?” she asks. “No”, he replies. “My father ordered that we only watch the orcs' movements and make sure they do not enter the realm. They look to just be passing by.”

Puzzled, she wonders why they would not simply kill them anyways, if the orcs are already so near their borders. She asks as much and Legolas only frowns and shakes his head, saying “I do not pretend to understand my father’s orders. I merely follow them.”

They run swiftly and quietly through the trees, their feet holding true to paths they have known for centuries, even in the dark.

When they reach the edge of the forest some time later their movements become even smoother and more careful. She can just begin to hear the sounds of the orc pack nearby.

One of the trees ahead is marked, although not in a way that any untrained eye would see. Ahead of her Legolas begins climbing and she follows close behind.

They climb up through huge, arching, leaf-lined branches. Inside the tree is its own world, dark and fragrant. The trees may be growing sick with whatever fell evil has infected their lands, but they are still beautiful, ancient and massive. There is virtually no light but her eyes adjust and she feels her way along, only stumbling once in her ascent. She has climbed this particular tree many times before.

At the very top is a platform, built to give a wide view of the lands around. Like most things made by elves it is carved intricately, such that it seems almost part of the living tree. It is about four of her paces wide and two deep. There are platforms like this scattered across Mirkwood. Thranduil likes his borders watched.

They look down and can see a group of around thirty orcs, eating and fighting and jostling with each other far below. They do not seem purposeful or about any particular business except that of filling their bellies. They look to have recently killed some poor beast and stopped in their travels to eat it roughly over a few scattered fires.

After a few minutes of watching the pack, she moves a bit closer to Legolas and speaks quietly. "My lord, may I ask why you chose to come yourself tonight rather than send a guard? And why you chose me to accompany you? This seems like a simple enough mission for others to fulfill." She does not mean to sound lacking in humility, but they both know that the two of them are amongst the deadliest of Thranduil's guard, especially when their talents are combined. 

He looks as though he was expecting her question, but stands silently for a few moments as if unsure how to reply. Then, looking out over the treetops, he says, "I volunteered myself when the king asked me to see to this matter because I felt restless tonight. Suffocating underground in my father's halls. I wanted to come out and see the sky." 

He hesitates again. "And I asked you to come because I....I enjoy your company. Also, the star shower is peaking tonight and there is no moon or clouds to hide it. I thought it was something you would enjoy seeing." He tips his head back to the sky.

Sure enough, she looks up and every few seconds the bright tails of falling stars streak across the sky. She draws in a breath of amazement. She loves the night sky even more than most wood elves. The stars remind her of freedom and all things pure and good and that life perhaps does hold something more, although she does not yet know what. 

Why everyone is not out here to see this she does not know. But she is glad that Legolas thought to bring her. He knows her well and it brings her a quiet joy.

After a time of them both looking up at the sky and out over the forest and the lands that slope away beyond, Legolas says, “We may as well settle in. If we wish to ensure they leave, it may be some time. Although they will probably move on long before the light of dawn catches them.”

He unlatches his cloak and lays it out along the floor of the platform. He then lowers himself and spreads across it, his arm folded under his head. He stares up at the vault of sky overhead, marked again and again by shooting stars. She sits, leaning her back against the side of the platform and watches too. They stay like this in companionable silence for some time.

Eventually he speaks quietly. "You should look from this angle. I think the stars are always seen best from lying down. It makes everything seem more vast and yet also somehow closer."

"Do you not think we should be watching?" She tilts her chin in the direction of the orcs.

"I think that if the orcs begin to move into the forest that we will hear them do it." She feels slightly ill at ease, as though she is shirking her duty, but he is probably right and he is, after all, the prince.

The serious and lovely and thoughtful prince.

Although normally, she tries not to notice these things. She also tries not to notice his growing regard for her, his small gestures, the way his face warms when he sees her. There is no place in this world for a prince of the woodland realm to love someone such as her. But still, there is a low sort of fluttering in her that she seems unable to fully control when he is near.

She knows it is foolish, but she goes to him. She lies beside him on the half of his cloak he has left empty for her, keeping a few inches of space between them.

After only a few moments he closes that distance, reaching for her hand. She startles for the second time that night and her lips part in surprise. But she doesn't pull away. Instead, she waits to see what he will do next. 

At first he just lets her hand lie in his, which is warm and dry and larger than her own. But then he begins to move his hand along hers. His is firm in its touch as it kneads the tension from her palm, as he draws a thumb back and forth along her skin, runs his fingers over her knuckles. 

To her surprise she can feel herself growing aroused at this small contact. Other than a fear that something is growing between them that should not be allowed to take root, she is soothed and stirred by this new form of connection. It seems innocent enough on the surface, although in truth it makes her very aware of the length of his body next to hers. Every nerve in her body seems sensitized, as though each touch of his hand can be felt everywhere on her skin. 

She tries to relax. They have spent more than enough time together, saved the other’s life countless time, seen hardship and victory at each other’s sides. This should be but a small thing of comfort between them, easily forgotten by light of day. 

Eventually his hand stills and he speaks, his voice low. "You are one of the few people I feel I can be truly at ease around Tauriel. It is no small thing.” He echoes the very words that had been in her mind a moment ago, but with opposite meaning. Still looking up at the sky and away from her, he hesitates and then says slowly, “I have been thinking long on it, and I wish to offer you Fennas.”

Tauriel’s body stiffens. He feels it and lets go of her hand. 

This is a custom among them, a courting tradition. With the possibility of many centuries, even millennia of being partnered, a male elf can offer to pleasure the she-elf he is courting in order to show her his skills as a lover and his unselfishness, his willingness to be of service to her. Traditionally, he only gives and takes nothing for himself. 

This is meant to happen a number of times before they consummate their relationship, before he is sanctioned to take pleasure in her body in return. It translates literally into the common tongue as “gateway”. The woman is being offered an opening into a more committed relationship, and being given the choice as to whether she crosses through it. For the most part though, it is symbolic and the two participants are pair-bonded soon after they fulfill the ritual. 

It is the kind of old custom that is falling out of practice, but suits the solemn and gracious prince well in a way, she thinks. Although they are not courting and could never do so. In their circumstances and coming from Legolas it is a very unexpected thing and one she does not know how to respond to.

As though he has felt what she is thinking, he says, “I know that we cannot – that we cannot actually be together in that way, and it is not appropriate for me to ask given our circumstances. But I thought perhaps I could offer it just once without its normal burden of expectation. It could be a way into a deeper friendship or a stronger bond as warriors rather than something more."

And then, after a pause, "You have every freedom to refuse. It is simply a longing that has been with me for some time now and I had to give it voice.”

It is not the way of their people to be bold or hurried about such matters. Legolas must have considered this a very long time indeed and have much deeper feelings for her than she has known. 

He has laid himself so bare, made himself so vulnerable to her in this offering. She feels a rush of tenderness towards him, almost protectiveness. And there is the rush of something else too - desire. 

She attempts to smooth the tangle of emotions in her belly and throat with a deep breath, so that she can think. She can feel that he is waiting beside her, but he seems calm enough, as though resigned to the risk he has taken and already accepting of what her answer may be. 

Although he is asking for them to be physical just this once, with no strings attached, calling it Fennas means that he wants it to be something more than a simple tryst. He is showing her respect. Even though they are not courting he is treating her as though they are, as someone very meaningful to him.

And it gives her more power this way, a kind of honouring, somewhat equalizing their differences of age and birth and station. He is, in fact, offering to only please her without asking for his own fulfillment. The idea of Fennas without a possible future together attached does provide a stronger container than if he had simply seduced her. It is somehow safer, more formal, less frightening. 

Without its normal burden of expectation, he has said. She can see how it is clever in its way and carefully considered. Despite the more cautious parts of herself, she is flattered and more than a small measure curious.

Gathering her courage, she turns on her side to look at him. “You have caught me off guard, my lord.”

Turning himself, so that they are lying face to face on their sides, he smiles apologetically and says “I know. I am sorry for that. Again, you needn’t feel like you must say yes. And the offer stands if it does not come to fruition tonight. You can take time to think on it if you wish.”

He takes her hand in his again, lacing his fingers through hers. "I do not want to make you uncomfortable. And whatever your choice, I promise that my manner towards you will not change. I will always fight by your side and call you friend."

She smiles, knowing that he means it. In response, his eyes widen, a small hope rising to their surface. She makes a decision. Taking one more look up at the stars and watching one fall, she turns back to him and says "I accept."

His face breaks open into a look of surprise and then happiness. Leaning forward, he plants a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Now?" he asks. Taking a moment to resolve herself, she nods.

He smiles, wide and bright in the dark. Her breath catches at his beauty and the unarmed quality of his response. Some new part of him is being revealed to her and she feels a surge of fondness for it, for him.

He gazes at her for a few moments like this and then slowly he moves the tips of his fingers – strong, elegant fingers whose skill she has often admired curled around a bow or blade – to her cheek and then draws them down her jaw to her neck. They play along the ridge of her collarbones, his eyes tracing them as well. 

Then, looking at her as if for permission, he reaches around and when she does not protest, unlatches her corset. She helps him to ease it off. He then moves her down onto her back and begins to open her dress slowly, exploring each new part of her that is revealed as he goes. As her hand had earlier, her skin comes alive under his touch and soon her whole body is humming with sensation. Then his palms are curling around her ribs, her waist, her hips, his caresses becoming more firm, as bit by bit her clothing is pulled off her.

Eventually she is fully revealed to him and she can feel the late summer air breathing softly against every part of her. He kneels up and looks at her, a kind of wonder on his face. “Tauriel” he says, his voice husky and low, “you are even more beautiful than I imagined.”

She feels lit from within under his gaze. He slowly removes his own clothing, leaving only his breeches. He is all lean graceful muscle and the pale light of his skin is luminous in the dark as he leans back over her. He runs his hands over her again with a kind of reverence; as though she is not a young guard ranked so much lower than him, her skin scarred and her hands calloused, but something sacred that he thinks himself unworthy to touch. 

Then his mouth joins his hands, and she is arching her back and running her fingers over his shoulders and back. She begins to moan softly and he looks up at her smiling, tenderly hushing her with a tilt of his head to remind her that enemies are still nearby. They are very high above the ground but could still be heard.

He is careful and takes his time, moving his lips and tongue over her sensitive ears, her neck, her breasts, and then, an arm sliding underneath to lift her lower back up into him, her stomach. When he reaches her navel he dips down to taste along the corners of her thighs. He lingers there, drawing out the moment, his hand moving over her leg and then finding where she is already wet. 

When he feels how ready she is, he bends his neck, his forehead against her stomach as if trying to catch his breath. In a moment though he has regained his focus, and returns to the ministrations of his mouth along her hipbones, while his clever fingers are now parting her and running along her folds. She feels like some sort of night-blooming plant, flowering beneath his attentions, opening for him.

When she can hardly stand anymore, he moves his fingers down and slides two inside of her, as deeply as they will go. Pleasure courses through her in a trail of light like one of the stars falling overhead. He fucks her like this until her head is thrown back and her mouth is open. Then, fingers still sliding along her inner wetness, he reaches up to lightly brush her clitoris with this thumb. Soon she is sobbing, biting down on her own arm to keep herself quiet.

Legolas lowers himself between her thighs and keeps his fingers inside while he dips to taste her. His tongue brushes against her clit, pulling it delicately against his lips, flickering and teasing and making something keen through her blood. It is not long before there is heat rising in her, a shuddering pressure she can barely contain. 

She reaches for him, pulling him up. Their lips meet for the first time as she pulls him into a kiss and he continues to pleasure her with his fingers. She is stifling the sounds that threaten to spill from her against his mouth. She can taste herself on his lips and the thought of it tips her into climax. He pulls back to watch her face, and she can feel his eyes on her as she bucks against his hand, her body taut and throbbing with release.

When she finishes, gasping for air, he holds her for a moment and then pulls away and seems to be gathering himself, stilling his own arousal now that he has brought her to the peak of hers. She draws her hand up along the side of his face, cupping her palm along his jaw. He smiles at her, and she can see the strain with which he calms himself in it. 

This is not what she wants. This tentative, beautiful new thing they have shared is not finished. 

She draws him closer, whispering into his ear, “Perhaps if we are both fulfilled this night it will be easier to bear that we cannot explore what is between us any further beyond it." 

He leans away to look at her, his eyes searching her face. She can see that he is trying to be strong, to adhere to his idea of what is safe here, but eventually she sees his desire win out. And then he is against her again. He is kissing her with an edge of desperation and she is helping him pull off his breeches. 

The feeling of his powerful body laid out over hers skin to skin, the weight of him on her, is almost painfully sweet. His face is buried in her neck and she hears him murmur, “Are you certain?” against it. When she replies, “Oh Valar Legolas, of course I am certain.” he lets out a long shuddering breath and she encircles him, her arm around his neck and her legs around the backs of his thighs. 

Reaching down between them, she wraps the length of his hardness in her hand and pulls him against her slick warmth. She rubs the head of his cock against herself a few times, making his breath come short, and then pulling him forward with the crook of her legs, allows him to enter her. 

He sinks into her with such a look of gratitude on his face that she feels her heart constrict. He fills her perfectly and as he begins to move within her, she wonders that they should be so compatible in this way as well, and not just side by side in a fight. She tightens herself around him and he moans quietly. 

They find a rhythm together and energy courses through her as he strokes into her over and over, her hips tilting into his thrusts. Her body is burning again, and she gazes past his shoulder to watch the stars falling one by one from the sky. 

This time her orgasm comes from some deeper place, surfacing in her with such force that it is like her skin has disappeared, like there is no separation between her and the sky arching overtop of them. She can sense the heartbeat of the tree in whose farthest reaches they are cradled, hear the trails of the stars as they streak past, feel what Legolas is feeling as though he is a part of her. She is expanding in shockwaves of pleasure so intense that she is no longer herself but something as wide as the world.

She cries out and he reaches one of his hands to gently cover her mouth. One of his fingers slips between her teeth and she bites down to keep herself from revealing their presence. 

One moment she is blazing like a star and the next she is falling, returning to the confines of her body which she thinks must be glowing in the aftermath of such a release.

She can feel Legolas strain against her and returns her attention to him. He is buried to the hilt in her, a choked off sound coming from his throat. She can feel the effort it takes for him too to stay quiet. His whole body is wracked with it, and she pulls him down to rest on top of her, drawing him in close, whispering “Yes, my prince” against his ear. 

When it is done and he has spilled himself in her, he collapses into her arms. She moves her hands in a soothing pattern over his back as his breathing returns to its normal depth and rhythm. They stay like this for a long time, the night unfolding around them.

Eventually they lie side by side, both watching the sky again, but this time curled into each other, as much of their bodies touching as possible. At some point they hear the din of the orcs change its tenor, their noises suddenly seeming to move away from the forest. Legolas gets up to check on their movements and says, “They’re leaving.” 

“Do we need to return?” she asks, hoping that his answer will be no.

“I am not expected back until morning,” replies Legolas.“You?”

“I am not on duty until midday,” she says, smiling. He comes back to her, lying down and running his fingers through her hair, murmuring “Good. I want for this night to last, to be here with you as long as I can.” And he says her name a few times, softly, and begins kissing her again.

**Author's Note:**

> If this were to have happened, then in Desolation of Smaug when Tauriel says to Thranduil, “I assure you that Legolas thinks of me as no more than a Captain of the Guard” she could have been recalling this night and hoping the king doesn't know the truth and realizing that it really cannot happen again. So much more sexual tension and believable love triangle angst this way! Regardless, it’s an excuse for some elf-smut, so, you know, win-win.
> 
> Also, I have heard it mentioned that the lore suggests that elves are rather asexual, but I’m sorry – I can’t fathom immortal life without lots of sex to keep it interesting. I also like to think about what sexuality might look like in the context of immortality and this is some of my headcanon on the matter.
> 
> Comments very welcome. Characters, relationships and settings obviously not mine - just, ummmm...enhanced.


End file.
